Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog and thank you for visiting today, I hope you will stay a while. Slide shows are at the bottom of this page. Follow my blog with Bloglovin


Tuesday 30 April 2013

Meljen cute teddy bear


I have had this little image by Meljen (Mellissa Jenkins) ready to go on a card for the longest time, as well as some of his friends. Finally he  has landed on a card. I know I should be using some of my patterened paper mountain, but I like him the way he is! I used my new Locking Loops dies and a panel cut with Card Creator basic set b by Spellbinders (I feel I need the A set now, the B shapes are just a little too small for the loops). I finished off with flat back pearls painstakingly added to each loop centre, and a great deal flicked over the floor and desk!
I think all the new dies are amazing, and thinking back to how plain and simple the first domestic dies were and how small things have progressed considerably, and every man and his dog is making and selling different dies, it used to be a case of three or four main players, and you wanted to collect maybe two, now it is confusing, you can never have them all! Also they are harder to cut (this one had to go through the eBosser twice in different directions), and may require waxed paper to release from the die.
The image was coloured with Promarkers of course. I hope to show you some more of these soon, I had a an accident with the bunny's ears so will have to start again with those.
I can't remember if this image was a freebie, I think it might be, I bought some and downloaded some free from Meljen. I spotted an image on someone's blog and followed the link and fell in love. The great news is Meljen is having a sale, and there are freebies still.

I have entered this in the following challenges:
 Passion for Promarkers  Tuesday challenge - to die for - use a die cut.
Stamping for the Weekend - die cuts or punches - closes in 9 days

Sunday 28 April 2013

Quirky Dark and Bright and don't be square challenge set by me - catchy don't you think?

I used Little Tiggy Tiger from Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps who are providing first and third prizes in the Quirky Crafts challenge starting today, Digital Delights are providing 2nd prize.

I coloured Tiggy with Promarkers and cut her out (I nearly forgot the challenge I had set as far as shapes go, and almost used rectangles - eeek - not allowed!). The card is cut with a Quickutz Lifestyle set which has different shaped cards, and lots of blooms, an alphabet and much more, everything you need to make a card!

I typed this sentiment into Serif, played around with it until I was happy and then die cut it (with an oval die of course, no rectangles allowed), then added some Prima blooms and a Dovecraft clear brad which I coloured with my Bright Green Promarker pen. The final touch was to add some flat backed pearls which I recently purchased, they are mixed colours so I had fun trying to pick out the green ones with tweezers, a lot flipped off somewhere on the floor! I love this bright green card which was from Papermill.
If you want to see some more lovely examples and join in the fun head on over to Quirky Crafts.

I have entered the following challenges:
Creative Inspiration Paint - Anything goes ends Saturday.

Stash haul from Shepton Mallet show.

Well it was just like going to Tesco, I only wanted an ink pad and look what fell into my basket! I wanted to try Cut Rite, I needed some cello bags, and the rest - well, I spotted the masks 4 for £10 bargain, then saw some gorgeous Stampersaurus stamps and resisted buying the lot, and after going all round the show went back there for the ink pad I wanted because they were the cheapest. I saw the envelopes, which were £2 per pack or 6 for £10, seemed a bargain. I bought some Fresco paint which I keep seeing and wanted to try, some A3 white card, some white Stazon as well as the black, the on the edge sewing die by Sizzix that I have wanted for a while, and some acrylic storage sheets, and magnetic sheets too. I found the magnetic sheets cheaper later on, and Spike overcharged me for the acrylic sheets - I will tell him at the next show I visit!

Saturday 27 April 2013

Cold breakfast, very cold!

It wasn't a very warm morning when one day this week I had run out of fresh berries, and forgotten (again) to get frozen berries out to thaw for my breakfast, so instead of eating semi frozen berries with yoghurt and banana I decided to whizz it all up in the liquidizer, result: sort of frozen fruit yoghurt. This made me feel very cold when I ate it, the sun had been out the morning before but not this morning - Thursday I think.
Ingredients: frozen mixed berries, frozen raspberries, frozen mango, fresh banana, orange segments from two oranges, fat free yogurt, cinnamon. I think that was all, looks pretty and tasted yummy.



Alpha challenge second attempt at W with circles.


I chose two words for my second attempt at the Alpha Challenge set by The Craft Barn, W for Watch and W for Weather.

I used my new mask to make the circles, watch stamps are Creative Expressions, Weather stamps are Hero Arts. I used glimmer mists with the mask to make the background, and I added a few fabric snowflakes as the stamped ones disappeared when I heat embossed them!



Late Quirky Reminder


This is a bit late, and there is too much glitter and it is not the image I wanted to use - printer issues! This is Ava Fairy from Bugaboo, and I used various die cuts with Spellbinders dies on this 8x8 card. I also used Making Memories ribbons and matching brads. Papers by Papermania and DCWV.  You have until midday to enter the challenge, Things with Wings and Clouds.

Sunday 21 April 2013

The Alpha Challenge - W for World and background circles.


Here we go again with the Alpha Challenge 2013.

The Craft Barn set the letter to W and with a twist, there have to be circles in the background. My chosen word was World.

I got out all my circle stamps and had good fun stamping the background, and then used the children holding hands around the Earth as my main stamp, the second stamping got smudged sadly. I wrote in the border circles, that stamp is by Stampendous, other stamps are by MFT and Hero Arts, the globe with the children stamp is by Rubber Stampede. Memento inks and Promarkers.



A Quirky Reminder


Another funny fairy frog by Dustin Pike to remind you there is one week to go to enter the "Things with Wings and Clouds" challenge at Quirky Crafts. I coloured the frog with Promarkers (I love the jar of fireflies), and cut the panels with Nestabilities. I found this paper in my box which I think is by English Paper Company but I could be wrong. I cut my vellum clouds with a Sizzix Framelets die from the cupcake set, it is the icing die! Letters and flowers are cut with Quickutz Lifestyle dies.

I hope to add a couple more examples soon, one of these depends on me sorting out the printer which involves surgical gloves, syringes and some special Magic Bullet liquid, oh and a couple of hours and lots of mess. If it works I should be able to print off the only image we haven't shown you yet and make another card.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

WOYWW #202



It is that day again, Wednesday, the day we get to nosy round other people's workdesks! This has come out very dark and not very good photos. 
I decided I had to tackle my Kraftin Kimmie stamp pile and organise it, and in doing so I have already found one duplicate purchase. (I started this at bedtime, and was soooo late going to bed it was hardly worth bothering).

What is involved, well first I adhere the pink slips with the picture of the stamp onto card (for the few stamps with no picture I stamp the image on the card), then the sheet is scanned so I can put a copy in my "catalogue" where I can refer to it when I need a stamp, then the first sheet is laminated. After that I adhere a 3L filing strip to the side so it can go in a folder. The stamps need to be stuck onto EZ Mount and cut out then the backing peeled off so they can be stored on their laminated sheet. A lot of the stamps are already on EZ, I did that part first until I ran out - I think I need a lot more EZ, I have a heap of stamps without it, not all KKS and only one sheet left unused.

Last week I visited other people taking part randomly, I would never have time to go round everyone, and I didn't! I had a lot of return visits with reactions varying from no comment, shock to I want to come and play!
So if you want to see a whole load more workdesks and even show yours - hop on over to The Stamping Ground where it all began, started by the lovely Julia.


Sunday 14 April 2013

Things with Wings and Clouds, or maybe clouds with wings - anyway it is really Quirky!

Caro set the Quirky Crafts challenge this time and it is Clouds and Things with Wings. These two images are provided by one of our sponsors Bugaboo, and are called Skelekinz - Wings and Deacon - Wings. I coloured them with Promarkers and cut them out by hand. The paper is DCWV, and I die cut the striped paper with a Sizzix on the edge Tim Holtz die to make houses. I added some sticky back ribbon by Papermania and I used a die I got free with Simply Cards and Papercrafts (well really I got the magazine free with the die lol) to cut a purple butterfly because I felt it needed something in the sky.

I have entered the following challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - Butterfly Kisses.

For this card I used Fairy Frogmother images and words provided by our other sponsor, Doodle Dragon Studios aka Dustin Pike. Again I used the DCWV clouds paper with a strip of pink and green for the ground. I added Ice Stickles glitter glue to the wings, and a bit of green polka dot ribbon to finish it off.

Well if you want to win images like this, or different images and to see what the rest of the team made - hop on over to Quirky Crafts now!

I have entered the following challenges:
Dustin Pike Blogspot - Anything Doodle Dragon goes. (It feels wrong entering the sponsor's challenge but teamie Lyn did, and last time she won so here goes).


Kraftin Kimmie - bling it on

Last one for Kraftin Kimmie, challenge 1 bling it on, and now I really must go to bed.

I can't remember this fairy's name but she is pretty. The Stickles glitter glue was still very wet when I took this, and she is coloured with Promarkers and die cut with Nestabilities.

I have entered the following challenges:
Die Cut Divas - washi tape or birthday card or both.

Krafting Kimmie Partay!

Kraftin Kimmie have had a week long Partay to celebrate the new releases of lovely rubbah! Last Saturday 6 challenges were set, I hoped to enter all of them but I have managed 2 so far and it is very late and there are hours to go so maybe this is all I will manage. This card is for Challenge 3 Fussy Cutting and features Alice.


This card is for Challenge 2 - Happy Birthday. I love this one for a guy, I know there is a little ink bleed around the umbrella that I can't seem to sort out.

I have entered the following challenges:
Die Cut Divas - washi tape or birthday card or both.
Daring Cardmakers - April Showers (Fridays)
Simon Says Stamp - April Showers or Spring Flowers - well either card would  count here I entered the first one. (Wednesdays).



Alpha Challenge R for renne

Sorry it is a bit blurred (I will try and take a better one when I have time), a very last minute entry to The Craft Barn Alpha Challenge. This time it is R for Renne meaning Reindeer. Some of these animals are pretending to be reindeer!


Wednesday 10 April 2013

WOYWW

It is What's on your workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) over at The Stamping Ground. The day we all get to have a nosy at each other's desks and see how messy/tidy they are.

This is what is on my workdesk right now, I spent hours tidying up last night, and there is more tidying to do!
All ready to die cut some of the images I coloured last week, will I get a day of colouring in this week? I hope so!

View from the other end.


Hmm, my cutting out bench needs more tidying, I need my Really Useful little boxes hung on the wall too. Was going to show this to Papermill, they asked for racks on walls.

View from the front of the desk, there are a lot of things on the floor that want sorting too.